Knowledge as a Financial Asset

If someone offered you $100,000 to take a class for a few weeks, would you do it? I believe most of you would, assuming there is nothing terrible about the class itself. But if I change the offer to say you have a 30% chance of making $100,000, would you…

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Morally Acceptable Behavior

According to this poll, a majority of Americans now find physician-assisted dying to be morally acceptable behavior. That doesn’t mean the practice should be legal, obviously. There are lots of practical considerations. But the majority no longer sees it as a moral failing. On a related matter, I have been noodling…

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Robots Read News – about FIFA

If your firewall is blocking the image, see it on Twitter here. In Top Tech Blog… Use a 3D printer to make prosthetic limbs. Google want the world to have this capability and soon. Now we can brainwash poor people from space! And the electric-powered helicopter-airplane is coming. Let me know when Uber starts flying them.

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Dignity and Other Obstacles to Success

In my recent post on physician-assisted death, in which I ran the debate through the so-called Rationality Engine, some of you were disappointed that my verdict was not a verdict. My summary was that a person who values human dignity above freedom could rationally be opposed to physician-assisted death, and vice-versa. A…

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Robots Read News – About ISIS Surrendering

If your firewall is blocking the image, see it on Twitter here. In the Top Tech Blog… Bionic eye lenses that are better than laser eye surgery (maybe). A digital mirror that shows you what you look like in different clothing. And a gadget that monitors your sleep and tells you how to do it better next time. 

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Robots Read News – About No News

If your firewall is blocking the image, see it on Twitter here. Meanwhile, at Top Tech Blog, some youngsters figured out how to solve the world’s energy problems with salt. It sounds ridiculous because I left out the part that they are MIT students. So yeah, it probably works. (Dilbert’s cartoon degree is…

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How to Be Not-Scary

An hour ago I heard my assistant opening a door that I happened to be standing near. It was one of those situations likely to scare the heck out of her. I was an adult male in an unexpected place, and too close. As a courtesy, I decided to act…

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The Lonely Geek Advantage

A few months ago my brother was in town and we spent much of our time tinkering with a new lighting system for my garage man-cave, tracking down some Ethernet wiring problems, learning how to edit video, connecting an old computer to an old television to display my website analytics,…

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Death by SEO

As most of you know, several years ago I lost my ability to speak due to a rare voice problem called Spasmodic Dysphonia. My doctor and the specialists that he recommended were baffled. No one knew what was causing it. And until you have a name for your problem, it is nearly…

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Robots Read News – About Deflategate

If your firewall is blocking the image, see it on Twitter here. In Berkeley start-up news, this guy might have found a way to turn his toe fungus into a billion-dollar business. If you have toe fungus too, and all you did about it was wear socks with your sandals, you are officially…

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Death with Dignity – Verdict

[Update 5/18/15: I have begun evaluating the top-rated comments for consideration as upgrades to the living debate. When I think I have a good set of objections/upgrades I will issue a new (or confirmed) verdict.] In prior posts, Jimmy Akin provided the seed argument against physician-assisted death that I will…

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Assisted Dying Debate – Jimmy Akin’s Opinion

Background: A few weeks ago I made a public call for a qualified person to explain to my readers why assisted dying should NOT be legal. I asked because I had never met anyone who held that opinion and I wondered if such a person even existed. (Seriously.) Jimmy Akin (see his website) volunteered,…

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That Time I Tried to Watch a Video on the Internet

About ten times a day I see a link on the Internet to a video clip that looks interesting or newsworthy. I usually click that link because apparently I am incapable of learning from experience. As you know, videos on the Internet sometimes crash your device. Sometimes they start but…

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Robots Read News – New Miracle Drug

If your firewall is blocking the image, see it on Twitter here. Humor Dimensions: recognition, cleverness, bizarre, cruel Predicted sharing: Medium-high because the “people are dumb” idea always travels. No disqualifying concepts and safe for work. On Top Tech Blog: Here come 3D holograms that float in the air without special glasses. I plan to leave a…

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Things That Cannot Be Communicated

As a writer, I keep bumping into topics that cannot be communicated for a variety of reasons. I thought I would list them so you see how many there are. That’s the surprising part.  Feel free to skim it to get to the content after. Secrets: Someone asked you not…

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